Video picks up image of a suspect in Boston Marathon bombing

Thursday

Apr 18, 2013 at 2:00 AMApr 18, 2013 at 12:23 PM

BOSTON — In what could be a major break in the Boston Marathon case, investigators are on the hunt for a man seen in a department store surveillance video dropping off a bag at the site of the bombings, a local politician said Wednesday.

The Associated Press

BOSTON — In what could be a major break in the Boston Marathon case, investigators are on the hunt for a man seen in a department store surveillance video dropping off a bag at the site of the bombings, a local politician said Wednesday.

Separately, a law enforcement official confirmed that authorities have found an image of a potential suspect but don't know his name.

The development — less than 48 hours after the attack, which left three people dead and more than 170 wounded — marked a possible turning point.

City Council President Stephen Murphy, who said he was briefed by Boston police, said investigators saw the image on surveillance footage they got from a department store near the finish line and matched the findings with witness descriptions of someone leaving the scene.

"I know it's very active and very fluid right now — that they are on the chase," Murphy said. He added: "They may be on the verge of arresting someone, and that's good." The bombs were crudely fashioned from ordinary kitchen pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails and ball bearings, investigators and others close to the case said. Investigators suspect the devices were then hidden in black duffel bags and left on the ground. As a result, they were looking for images of someone lugging a dark, heavy bag. One department store video "has confirmed that a suspect is seen dropping a bag near the point of the second explosion and heading off," Murphy said. A law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the case publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity confirmed only that investigators had an image of a potential suspect whose name was not known to them and who had not been questioned.

Several media outlets reported that a suspect had been identified from surveillance video taken at a Lord & Taylor department store between the sites of the bomb blasts.

A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told the AP around midday that a suspect was in custody.

But the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office in Boston said no arrests had been made. By nightfall, there was no evidence anyone was in custody. At least 14 bombing victims remained in critical condition. Dozens have been released from hospitals, and officials at three hospitals that treated some of the most seriously injured said they expected all their remaining patients to survive.

President Barack Obama and his challenger in the last election, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, planned to visit Boston on Thursday to attend a service honoring the victims.